Report: Ericsson Eyes Management of AT&T, Verizon Networks

Ericsson is eyeing contracts to manage both AT&T and Verizon's networks.

Citing comments from Jean-Claude Geha, head of Ericsson's managed services business, Bloomberg reports that Ericsson is in discussions with the nation's two largest carriers to manage their infrastructures in very much the same way it already does for Sprint.

Ericsson could not be reached for comment on the matter prior to press time.

As spending on network deployments slows, Ericsson is looking to fill that revenue void through its managed services divsion.

The Swedish equipment maker Tuesday announced a seven-year managed services agreement with Romanian operators Romtelecom and Cosmote, both subsidiaries of OTE, the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization, Group of companies. As part of that agreement, Ericsson will manage the operators' wireline and wireless networks in Romania.

Geha said that interest from carriers looking to outsource operations is increasing. The company estimates that almost half of the $273 billion managed service market in 2012 was made up of carriers doing tasks themselves. Ericsson sees that as an opportunity.

Even before Sprint announced its ambitious Network Vision initiative, the third-largest U.S. carrier signed a managed services agreement with Ericsson called Network Advantage. Under Network Advantage, Ericsson assumes responsibility for the day-to-day services, provisioning, and maintenance of all Sprint-owned wireless and wireline networks.